salami slicing
The achievement of a large change by incrementally asking for small concessions.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
“He uses salami slicing to get what he wants.”
“She practices salami slicing by asking for small favors every single day.”
“They win every argument through salami slicing instead of asking for everything at once.”
“The manager used salami slicing to slowly change the team's schedule without causing a major protest.”
“The government is using salami slicing to reduce public services by cutting the budget by just one percent every few months.”
“The developer relied on salami slicing to remove trees from the park until the entire green space was finally gone.”
“By employing a strategy of salami slicing, the committee gradually implemented the controversial policy through a series of minor, seemingly harmless amendments.”
Derived from the practice of a delicatessen cutting salami into exceptionally thin pieces to fill a sandwich at the lowest possible cost. The term describes the process of achieving a significant result through a series of small, incremental steps, mirroring the gradual reduction of the sausage until the whole is gone.
Last updated August 10, 2026